Garment cases



Sept. 1, 1959 FiIedAug. 31, 1956 I E. H. HUEHNS GARMENT CASES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 131m E1" H. Huahns p 1959 E. H. HUEHNS 2,902,144

GARMENT CASES Filed Aug. 31, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Elmer H- Huehns Patented Sept. 1, 1959 GARNIENT CASES Elmer H. Huehns, Sheboygau, Wis.

Application August 31, 1956, Serial No. 607,331

1 Claim. (Cl. zoo-7 This invention relates to garment cases; and it consists of a shipping case or carton for transporting or shipping garments. which are supported on conventional garment hangers; said garment case comprising a rectangular inner casing having four walls and a closelyfitting outer casing also having four walls, one of the walls of said inner casing being hinged along the length of one of its vertical sides so that it can be swung outwardly like a door to define a doorway providing access to the interior of the case, while the overlying Wall of the outer casing is similarly hinged but along the opposite side of the doorway so that it will swing like a door outwardly in the opposite direction, the inner door of the inner casing being held in its closed position when the outer door is closed, the doorway provided when both doors are open having an area corresponding to that of the full side wall of the carton, the outer casing having closure flaps at its top and bottom while the inner casing is advantageously free from flaps at its top, a hanger bar for suspending garment hangers mounted at the top of the inner casing in slots provided in two opposite walls of the outer casing in such manner that the hanger bar is supported by both the inner and outer casings, said hanger bar advantageously being mounted transversely of the doorway so that it prevents the side walls from spreading apart when the doors are open; said garhaving a cross section in the general form of a W with depending end flanges which fit between the inner and outer casings while its center rests on top of the hanger bar and the depending V-shaped arms rest on the shoulders of the garments to hold them in position and to prevent them from swinging; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

Within the past few years an important demand has arisen from garment manufacturers for shipping cases for finished garments which will support the garments during shipping in such manner that the garments arrive free from wrinkles and without being crushed. Several cases of this type have been suggested but all leave something to be desired. Hanger bars for supporting garment hangers have been provided in these shipping cases but no entirely satisfactory way of mounting these hanger bars has been suggested. It has been found that,

when these hanger bars are supported at their ends by single thicknesses of corrugated paper board, the supports sometimes fail causing the garments to be crushed. It is also true that most of these garment cases require loading from the top which may cause crushing of the garments 'while they are being loaded.

I have discovered a rather simple solution for these difiiculties. My new garment case is provided with a double wall, usually of double-faced corrugated paper board, extending completely around the case to provide strength and the hanger bar is supported by both thicknesses of the paper board. This provides ample strength to withstand rough handling. On one of its sides my garment case is provided with full-length overlapping .40 ment case also comprising advantageously a dust shield" doors which swing open in opposite directions so that the case can be loaded like a Wardrobe. The outer door when closed holds the inner door in closed position and a single sealing strip along the edge of the outer door servesto hold the doors firmly closed during the shipping operation. The outer casing is. provided with flaps at its bottom which when sealed together form a bottom closure for the case. The outer casing is also provided with flaps at the top which form a top closure. The'inner casing is advantageously free from flaps at its top. A dust shield is provided having a cross section in the form of a W with depending end flanges which fit between the inner and outer casings at the top of the case while its center rests on top of the hanger bar and its depending arms. press against the shoulders of the loaded garments to hold them firmly in position. The top flaps when sealed press this dust shield downwardly so it is held firmly in position.

My invention can be explained in greater detail by reference to the accompanying drawing which shows, more or less diagrammatically two modifications of my garment case. In this showing,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a garment case with its full length doors open ready to be loaded with garments, the flaps at the top of the outer casing being open to show the interior of the case,

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view of a hanger bar which can be used with my garment case,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a modified garment case which can be loaded from the end instead of from the side,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the dust shield when removed from the case, while Fig. 5 is a partial vertical cross section through a loaded garment case showing how the dust shield holds the garments on their hangers and prevents them from swinging or sliding off their hangers.

In the several figures like parts are designated by like reference numerals. It will be seen from Fig. 1 that my garment case has an inner casing with two side Walls 1 and 2 which are 'usually spaced apart a distance which is somewhat greater than the distance between the rear wall 3 and the front Wall 4, the latter forming an inner door. to the garment case. The outer casing has two side walls 5 and 6, a rear 'wall 7 and a front wall 8 which forms the outer door. The two doors are hinged along their inner margins as at 9 and 10, respectively. When the doors are open they define a passageway 11 between them. It will be noted that the inner casing is free from end flaps at its top so that the upper Wall 12 of the channel-shaped hanger bar, shown generally at 13, can be rested on top of the inner casing for support. The outer casing is provided with conventional end flaps 14, 15, 16 and 17 at its top and these, when sealed together in conventional manner form the top closure of the garment case.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the inner casing at its lower end is provided with four rather narrow end flaps 18', 19, 20 and 21 which can be over-lapped at their ends in conventional fashion, while the outer casing at its bottom is provided with end flaps 22, 23, 24 and 2 5. Flaps 22 and 23 are usually sealed together along the seam where they meet with a strip of adhesive tape and these flaps form the bottom closure of the garment case. Flap 21 at the bottom of the inner door is usually slid with its ends under flaps 18 and 19 when the inner door is closed, while the larger bottom flap 25 on the outer door is usually slid below flaps 18, 19 and 2 1 but, of course, above flaps 22 and 23, although the positioning of these flaps is a matter of choice.

It will be seen from Fig. 2 that the hanger bar is constructed from a blank strip of sheet metal by a pressing operation. Side slots 26 are cut close to the ends of the strip while simultaneously the side walls 27 and 28 are bent at right angles to the center strip 12. The depending flanges 29 at the ends of the bar are also folded transversely and at right angles to the center strip. It will be noted that the opposed walls and 6 of the outer casing are provided with slots 30 along the folding lines of the flaps 15 and 16 to receive the depending flanges of the hanger bar. The hanger bar is thus supported by the side walls of both the inner and outer casings which is an important advantage of this construction, since the full weight of the garments in the case is supported by the hanger bar and consequently by the center strip 12 of this bar where it rests on the inner and outer casings.

When my garment case is to be loaded the doors are swung open as shown in Fig. 1 and the hangers carrying the garments are stacked in, starting from one end, with the hooks 31 (Fig. 5) of the hangers slipped over the hanger bar as shown. The inner door is then closed with its side flange 37 inserted between the inner and outer side walls 1 and 5, if desired. The outer door is then closed and sealed in closed position by a strip of sealing tape extending along its margin 32 to the edge 33 of the side 6 of the outer casing. The dust shield, shown generally at 34 in Figs. 4 and 5, is then inserted as shown in Pig. 5 with its depending terminal flanges 35 between the inner and outer casings, and with its central strip 36 pressed against the hanger bar by the top flaps which are closed down on top of the shield and then sealed. The case is then ready to be transported or shipped.

The modified garment case shown in Fig. 3 is constructed in a very similar manner except that the distance between the back wall 3a and the inner door 4a is greater than the distance between the side walls 1a and 2a so that in effect the doors open from the end of the case rather than from its side, as in the Fig. l modification. The hanger bar passes from the rear wall to the front and, while the case is being loaded it is necessary to support the front end of the hanger bar in some fashion. This can be done by passing a dowel or bar 38 through the slot 26 of the hanger bar and resting the ends of the dowel on top of the side walls of the case as shown in Fig. 3. The garments are then loaded, starting at the back, and when the case is full, the dowel 38 is removed, the inner door closed while the front end of the hanger bar is raised and then the outer door is closed, the flange 29 of the hanger bar being lifted up and inserted in the slot 3% in the outer door. The outer door is then sealed to the side of the case as before, the dust shield is inserted and then the top flaps are closed down and sealed. The same hanger bar and the same dust shield can be used in this modification if the dimensions of the case are the same as those of the case of Fig. 1.

The reference numerals in Fig. 3, used to designate various elements of the garment case, are the same as those used previously in describing the case of Fig. 1 except that as have been added where the elements are not identical. The structure of the two cases is so similar that the structure of the Fig. 3 modification will be evident from the description already given of the structure of the Fig. l modification.

While I have described what I consider to be the more advantageous embodiments of my garment case it is evident, of course, that various modifications can be made in the specific structures which have been described Without departing from the purview of this invention. Thus the arrangement and size of the end flaps can be varied,

the structure of the hanger bar can be altered, the side flange on the inner door can be omitted, if desired, etc. The size and shape of my garment case can also be varied to a considerable extent. For example larger boxes on be made to transport and ship mens overcoats, if desired. A convenient size for the cases is 21% across the shoulders of the garments and 35 high. The other dimension varies with the number of garments to be placed in the case. Convenient sizes are 10", 22" and 36", for example.

A particular advantage of my garment case is that, when the doors are open, it can be loaded like a wardrobe. This avoids the crushing which occurs when garments are dropped into the box from the top Another advantage is that there is no weakening of the side walls by cutting them through And a further advantage is that the hanger bar is supported on both inner and outer casings and serves to hold these casings firmly together. The hanger bar, in the embodiment of Fig. 1, also prevents the side walls from spreading apart when the doors are open.

My garment cases are usually made of double-faced corrugated paper board but, of course, they can be made of ordinary cardboard or even of plywood, if desired. Further modifications of my garment case which fall within the scope of the following claim will be immediately evident to those skilled in this art.

What I claim is:

A garment case for shipping and transporting garments which comprises in combination: (a) an inner casing having four side walls, (b) an outer casing fitted closely around said inner casing and also having four side walls, (0) one of the side walls of the inner casing being hinged along one of its vertical edges so that it can be swung outwardly like a door to define an inner doorway providing access to the interior of the case, (d) one of the side walls of the outer casing being hinged along one of its vertical edges so that it can be swung outwardly like a door to define an outer doorway providing access to the case, (e) the hinge of (c) and the hinge of (d) being located on adjacent parallel edges of the case so that the two doors swing in opposite directions, (f) the doorway provided when both doors are open having an area substantially corresponding to that of a side wall of the case and being the full height of the case so that it can be loaded like a wardrobe, (g) end flaps at the top and bottom of the outer casing adapted to form top and bottom closures for the case, (h) a hanger bar for suspending garment hangers mounted at the top of the side walls of the casing in slots provided at the tops of two opposite walls of the outer casing and resting on top of the corre sponding side walls of the inner casing so that the hanger is supported by both inner and outer casings, (i) said hanger bar being provided with transverse depending end flanges passing through said slots and serving to hold the outer and inner casings together as well as preventing the side walls of the case from spreading apart when the said doors are open.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Belsinger Sept. 2 

